Excgarated: Reddit User Unwittingly Creates The Word Of The Year

The word “excgarated” does not exist in any dictionary. However, a reddit user may have unwittingly created the word of the year. User Theoman333 unknowingly invented the word during a heated discussion about abstaining from masturbation and porn. Although reddit comments are often filled with misspellings and grammatical errors, users found Theoman333’s mistake specifically amusing.

The discussion was about a question, which was posted in the “OutOfTheLoop” section. User _selfishPersonReborn posed the question “Why is nofap ridiculed?”

Nofap is a movement that was created to promote self-improvement. More specifically, participants are challenged to abstain from masturbation and porn.

According to the Nofap website, participation in the “ultimate challenge” will ultimately heal relationships, reduce sexual dysfunction, and allow men to “stop objectifying and establish meaningful relationships.” Participants are not forced to accept the challenge and they encouraged set their own goals. However, the movement has received stark criticism.

In the reddit discussion, Theoman333 suggests the benefits of abstaining are “excgarated”:

“Because its excgarated, there’s a cult like mentality. They encourage abstaining completely, where instead limiting consumption is more benefitial. [sic] They claim abstaining gives “super powers.” As a former nofapper I can that it’s true, but hugely exaggerated.”

Theoman333 obviously meant to type exaggerated. He later admitted that he realized he spelled it wrong. However, he was simply “too lazy to go back and attempt to correct.”

Apparently, those who read the post were unsure if it was a mistake or a word they had never seen. The sheer volume of searches for “excgarated” drove it to the top of Alexa’s list of “Hot Topics.” The non-word is currently ranked higher than “Walking Dead,” “March Madness,” and “Google News.” The ranking is quite a feat for a misspelled word.

Theoman333 eventually realized that his mistake went viral. The unexpected reaction prompted him to include an addendum in his original post:

“… wow, I’m really surprised from the reactions to a strange spelling mistake. You people are entertained easily. Truth is, auto correct and computers ruined my sense of spelling completely. I realized something was fishy when I spelled the word, coupled with me on my smartphone… I was just too lazy… The second time I was sharper.”

Excgarated is not Theoman333’s only epic misspelling. Reddit users have also identified his creation and use of the word “ananpnumys.” It is unclear why the mistake gained enough attention to go viral. However, the non-word is certain to become the “word” of the year.

[Image via Shutterstock]